'Auschwitz - Birkenau - Gates of Hell - barbed wire', on Flickr
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In his maias den speech to Federal Parliament, the new Liberal Party member for inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong hpaid homage to a great aunt who escaped death in Auschwitz and

Pope Benedict XVI
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Pope Benedict said peace is possible in the Middle East, and that "we must never resign ourselves to the absence of peace".
"Peace is possible. Peace is urgent," the pontiff said at the closing Mass for the two-week Synod of

'Debate between Catholics and Oriental Christians in the 13th century', from Wikipedia
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The Synod of Bishops for the Middle East has proposed a change to Vatican rules that technically prohibit the Eastern Catholic churches' ordination of married

Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKillop, was a woman who devoted her life to the poor and speaking out against injustice. Known as a progressive woman of action, her canonisation has just been celebrated in Rome.
But for Zoo magazine, it doesn’t

Forty-six years ago in a small French village, the Canadian Catholic philosopher Jean Vanier (pictured) invited two intellectually disabled men from a local institution to come and live with him in a spirit of friendship and equality.
He named their home

The Vatican Information Service has full transcripts of Pontifical messages and those by the recent Synod of Middle-East bishops, plus a broad range of other similar information.
It also contains links to details of Papal trips, audiences and other

One bishop and a small parish in Folkestone have independently announced that they will leave the Church of England for the Roman Catholic Church and be the first into the ordin­ariate offered to them by Pope Benedict XVI a year ago. The exodus has

A Greens' euthanasia bill, to allow the Northern Territory and ACT governments to legalise euthanasia, will be debated in the Senate tomorrow.
ABC reports that the bill would re-instate powers to the territories to make the laws - which were overturned in

St Mary of the Cross
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Sydney's Randwick Council has quashed an idea to place Mary MacKillop's name at a memorial in the seaside suburb of Coogee dedicated to Australians killed in the Bali bombings.
The proposal was voiced at a recent meeting while

Image from the Sydney Morning Herald, of Sarah and baby Aerin Murdoch
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Friends and family of Lachlan Murdoch and his wife Sarah gathered at St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Rose Bay, Sydney, yesterday for the baptism of their daughter,

Social media icons, on Flickr
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New media is a means to get the Church's message across to a younger generation of Catholics, said the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication Monsignor Paul Tighe.
"The Pope said that young people

While states should "always guarantee" respect for migrants, immigrants themselves are duty-bound to assimilate into their new home country, said Pope Benedict.
In his message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on January 16, the pontiff

Screenshot from a preview of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, on Warner Bros.com
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A Scottish theologian said Harry Potter should be seen as a "Christ-like" figure, rather than condemned by religious commentators, because the boy wizard promotes

While visiting the Broome Regional Prison during the course of my usual pastoral rounds many years ago, I was called into one cell which held six inmates, writes Christopher Saunders, Bishop of Broome and Chairman of the Australian Catholic Social

The Church has expressed disappointment over recommendations for NSW primary schools to implement ethics classes as an alternative to religious classes.
The recommendation, contained in the 102-page independent report by Dr Sue Knight and three colleagues at

Image from the Domus Australia website
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The rooftop of the new Domus Australia pilgrimage centre in Rome will be a great place to "throw another steak on the barbie", said Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd.
Mr Rudd visited the site

Screenshot from the cover of the survey
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Queensland members of State Parliament who vote in favour of decriminalising abortion would face an average swing of 12 per cent against them, according to a new survey.
"What Queenslanders Really Think About

Celebrations will be held this weekend in Newcastle and Wollongong in honour of the new St Mary of the Cross, with at least 6000 registered for the event in Wollongong.
A liturgy is scheduled for 3pm on Sunday at Newcastle's Sacred Heart Cathedral, and will

St Bridget of Sweden, on Flickr
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The 14th-century St Bridget of Sweden is a "powerful example of feminine sanctity" and a reminder of the spiritual power and authority of women in the Church, Pope Benedict said.
St. Bridget founded a religious order

Archbishop Leonard of Belgium, from Facebook
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The head of the Belgian Catholic Church has called for mercy for elderly priests facing child abuse allegations.
Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard said retired priests should be spared what could be